The latest on California politics and government

August 14, 2013

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other members of California's Democratic congressional delegation urged Gov. Jerry Brown in a letter this week to sign state legislation to prevent local police from detaining people based on their immigration status unless they have been convicted of a felony or serious crime.

The letter, signed by 28 lawmakers and dated Monday, comes after immigration activists staged a sit-in at the Democratic governor's office last month in support of Assembly Bill 4.

In their letter, the lawmakers said the bill "sets clear, uniform standards to limit burdensome detentions of aspiring citizens by local law enforcement solely on the basis of federal immigration detainer requests."

Brown vetoed similar legislation last year but signaled in his veto message that the legislation could be amended to gain his support.

The lawmakers said in their letter that the current version of the bill gives law enforcement "much broader discretion to honor detainer requests than last year's vetoed bill."

The bill, by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, was passed by the Assembly in May but has yet to clear the Senate.

PHOTO: Five immigration activists, including a legal observer, sit in Gov. Jerry Brown's reception area to lobby him on an immigration bill on Tuesday, July 2, 2013. Pictured, from left to right, are Hugo Gonzalez, Kenia Alcocer and Alex Aldana. The Sacramento Bee/Hector Amezcua